Exhaust for clothes driers



Oct. 27, 1953 R. BENSON 2, 84

EXHAUST FOR CLOTHES DRIERS Filed June 9, 1952 INVENTOR. 2144 PH 4 BIS/VS o/v,

BY 71J 4920326 ,4 7'TOENEY Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

among householders, and have proved themselves highly efficient in drying wet or damp laundry. However, in many instances, the use of a dryer in the basement or laundry of a home has raised to an undersirably high degree the amount of humidity in the air within the home. Addltionally, the moisture-laden air is charged with lint, which is distributed through the interior air of the home and thus creates an undesirable condition.

The broad object of the present invention is to provide a device adapted to be operatively associated with a clothes dryer of the character re- .ferred to, to exhaust to the outer atmosphere the ,moisture and lint laden air issuing from the dryer.

To this end, I provide a device of the type stated 'which, summarized briefly, includes a pair of spaced plates mountable on the inner and outer :surfaces, respectively, of a building wall, said plates being clampably engaged with the wall by a plurality of tie rods extending therebetween,

the tie rods being adapted to space the plates apart a selected distance depending upon the thickness of the particular building wall on which "the plates are mounted. An exhaust duct is extended between the plates, one end of the duct projecting through and beyond the inner plate and being adapted for connection to the exhaust opening of a clothes dryer. The other end of the duct is flush with the outer plate, and is normally closed by a swingable closure panel carried by the outer plate. The closure panel is adjusted to duct opening and closing positions by means of a latch rod connected to the free end thereof and extending between the plates. A latch means is carried by the rod and the inner plate respectively, and is adapted to hold the rod in selected positions in one of which the closure panel is tightly closed and locked, and in the other of which the panel is open.

Among more specific objects of the invention are the following:

First, the provision of a device of the type stated that can be attached to any of various makes of dryers, without requiring modification or redesigning of the same;

Second, the provision of a device as described wherein one form of the device can be mounted on any of various building walls of different thicknesses, by utilization of a clamp type plate-connecting means that does not require the bolting or screwing of the device directly to the wall;

Third, the provision of a device as described wherein a closure panel latch means is adapted to hold said panel tightly closed and locked when the dryer is not in use, thus to prevent the admission of cold air, insects, or dampness into the basement or home laundry; and

Fourth, the provision of a device as described that can be manufactured at relatively low cost, will comprise a minimum of parts simply arranged in a manner whereby they will not readily get out of order, and will be capable of installation by a homeowner with a minimum of difliculty and without requirement of special tools.

Other objects will appear from the following description, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawing, wherein like reference numerals have been applied to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of an exhaust device for lint and moist air formed in accordance with the present invention, as it appears when mounted in a building wall, said wall being illustrated fragmentarily and in section;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on a reduced scale, taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view, taken from the right of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view, showing the connection of the operating rod to the closure panel; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

The exhaust device includes outer and inner plates l0, l2 mountable against the outer and inner surfaces, respectively, of a building wall W. In this connection, it will be understood that an opening of substantial size is initially formed in the building wall, the plates overlying the respective ends of said opening. To provide a weather and insect proof means engageable between the respective plates and the building wall, sealing members I4, formed of soft rubber or other compressible material, are interposed between the respective plates and the inner and outer wall surfaces. The members i l have their outer edges flush with the peripheries of the respective plates l0, l2.

In the plates 1 2 and It I form large center openings l6, 13 respectively, said openings being aligned transversely of the building wall and bemg here shown as circular, although they may 3 be of other shapes if desired. The sealing members Mhave large openings 26 of rectangular configuration, formed to a size substantially greater than that of the openings l6 and It.

For the purpose of securing the plates in place against the inner and outer wall surfaces, I utilize a plurality of tie rods 22 each of which is threaded at its opposite ends. The tie rods are extended through corner openings formed in the respectiveplates i5, i2, and are disposed within the opening of the wall.

After the tie rods have been extended through the corner openings of the respegtive plates, nuts 24 are threaded upon the opposite ends thereof, against the outer surfaces'of the respective plates. It will be noted, this regard, that the plates and tie rods can be mounted upon building walls of varying thicknesses. On any wall on which they are mounted, the plates will be forced into tight, clamping engagement with their adjacent wall surfaces, when the nuts are threaded inwardly on the opposite Ends of the tie rods, the members 14 being compressed against the wall surfaces to seal the Wall opens ing at its ends, through an area extending marginally of the plates.

Carried by the respective plates l5, i2 is a duct 26, formed open at its ends and fitted snugly within the openings [6, It said duct extending transversely of the building wall between the plates in and I2. One end of the duct is disposed flush with the outer surface of the plate it (Figure 2), and is fitted snugly within the opening 18 of said plate. The other end of the duct is projected inwardly of the building, beyond the inner plate i2, and is snugly but slidably fitted within the opening Iii of said inner plate. Thus, when the plates are shifted toward one another into clamping engagement with the building wall, the projecting 'inner end of the duct is permitted to slide within the opening Iii, to any extent necessary. After the plates have been clamped to the wall, the innen end of the duct is connected in communication with the air outlet of a conventional clothes dryer, not shown.

Means is embodied in the device for controlling the opening and closing of the duct whenever the device is to be used. This means includes spacer '28 interposed between a hinge 3i] and the outer surface ofplate I0, screws or equivalent fastening elements being extended through one leaf of said hinge and through the spacer into the plate. The other hinge leaf has connected thereto a closure panel 32 proportioned to cover the open outer end of the duct 26 and adapted, when closed, to be shifted into engagement with said outer end.

Formed in the outer plate I0 is a slot 34 communicating with the opening N3 of said plate. A latch rod 36, extended in parallelism with and spaced away from the duct 26, is threaded at one end, the threaded end of the rod extending through the slot and through an aperture 38 formed in the closure panel. As will be noted from Figure 4, the aperture 38 is formed to a size substantially greater than the diameter of the rod 36, so as to prevent the rod from binding within the opening when the closure panel is being swung between its open and closed positions.

Threadedly engaged with the outer end of the rod 36, are nuts 40, one of said nuts being disposed a a ns th oute s r o th lat 30 an W111 be noted, can be adjusted longitudinally of the rod 36, so as to accommodate the same to the adjusted distance between the plates l0 and [2, it being mainly important that the nut 40 shown at the left in Figure 4 be engaged against the outer surface of the plate 30 in the closed position of the closure panel.

The other or inner end portion of the rod 36 is extended loosel through an opening 42 pro-' vided in the inner plate 12 and is projected interiorly of the building wall, the projecting inner end of the rod being bent to form a closed. loop extending radially of the rod to provide a handle 44. The loop is of rectangular formation, having an inner portion 46 disposed normally to! the axis of the rod 36.

A latch member 48 is secured to the inner plate I2, and is formed from a single length of flat bar material bent to shape, the opposite ends ofv said length of material being turned outwardly to form feet abutting against the plate 12 and. fixedly secured thereto by screws or equivalent fastening elements. The medial portion of the. latch member is formed to a U-shape, the legs: of said medial portion extending outwardly from. the plate I2 and merging into a bight 50 extend-- ing obliquely to the plane of the plate to form. a cam surface extending across the path of swings. ing movement of the portion 46, when the closure.- panel is closed and the rod 36 is rotated.

Secured to the inner plate 12, adjacent the latch member 50, is a keeper 52 having a free v end portion offset outwardly from the inner plate,.

(ill

th the bein d sp s n spac d reletiq to the inner surface thereof. The nuts 36, as

though not to so great an extent as that to which. the bight 59 is spaced away from said plate.

By reason of this construction, it will be noted. that when the closure panel is swung to a closed position, the handle 44 can be swung from the. dotted line position to the full line position there-- of shown in Figure 3. As a result, the portion. 46 of the handle will be engaged by the cam. surface of the latch member and continued T0,?- tation of the handle in the same direction will. be effective to bind the portion 46 against-the cam surface, with said surface being operative,

to shift the rod in the direction of its length away from the closure panel. Thus, the closure. panel will be forced into a tightly closed position, and will be locked in said position.

At such time as the dryer is to be again used, the handle is swung counterclockwise in Figure 3, freeing the rod for longitudinal movement in an opposite direction, to open the closure panel, When the panel has been opened, the handle extended into the keeper 52 to hold the. panel in the open position thereof.

It is believed apparent that changes may be; made in the construction illustrated and de-- scribed within the scope of the claims appended. h et I claim:

1 An air exhaust for clothes dryers comprising: a pair of plates adapted to be mountedupon the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of; a building wall; an exhaust duct extending between said plates adapted atone end to he conneeted in communication with the airoutlet of a clothes dryer and having its other end opening to atmosphere through one of the plates; a closure panel swi eab r mmented. o sai o a e. o adjustment to opposite, extreme positions in one of whic i en a es d. o h r n of he duct t0. class th am and n t he o hich it s sweet ut rdl f m. a d en of t e dus X and means to shift the panel'to the respective extreme positions thereof including a latch rod connected at one end to the panel and extending in substantial parallelism with the duct, said latch rod being loosely mounted in the plates for rotation and for movement in the direction of its own length, a keeper on the other plate disposed to engage the other end of the latch rod on rotation of the latch rod in one direction in the outwardly swung position of the closure panel, and a latch member on the other plate having a portion spaced outwardly from said other plate a greater distance than the keeper, said portion being disposed for engagement with said other end of the latch rod on rotation of the same in an opposite direction in the ductclosing position of the closure panel.

2. An air exhaust for clothes dryers comprising: a pair of spaced apart, flat, inner and outer plates proportioned to overlie the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of a building wall, each of said plates having a center opening of substantial size and said openings being aligned transversely of the plates; a plurality of tie rods extending between the plates to connect the same and spaced about said openings of the plates; an exhaust duct formed open at its opposite ends, one end of the duct being fitted in the opening of the outer plate flush with the outer surface of said outer plate, the other end of the duct projecting through and beyond the opening of the inner plate and being adapted for connection to the air outlet of a clothes dryer; a closure panel swingably connected at one end to the outer surface of the outer plate for pivotal adjustment between opposite extreme positions in one of which the panel is sealably engaged against the outer end of the duct to close the same, and in the other of which the panel is swung out wardly from the outer plate to open the duct for exhaustion of air therethrough to atmosphere;

and means movably mounted upon and extending between the plates in engagement with the other end of the closure panel and arranged for adjusting the same to the respective extreme positions thereof.

3. An air exhaust for clothes dryers comprising: a pair of spaced apart, flat inner and outer plates proportioned to overlie the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of a building wall, each of said plates having a center opening of substantial size and said openings being aligned transversely of the plates; a plurality of tie rods extending between the plates to connect the same and spaced about said openings of the plates; an exhaust duct formed open at its opposite ends, one end of the duct being fitted in the opening of the outer plate flush with the outer surface of said outer plate, the other end of the duct projecting through and beyond the opening of the inner plate and being adapted for connection to the air outlet of a clothes dryer; a closure panel swingably connected at one end to the outer surface of the outer plate for pivotal adjustment between opposite extreme positions in one of which the panel is sealably engaged against the outer end of the duct to close the same, and in the other of which the panel is swung outwardly from the outer plate to open the duct for exhaustion of air therethrough to atmosphere; a latch rod arranged in substantial parallelism with the duct and loosely mounted in the respective plates for rotation and for movement in the direction of its own length, said latch rod having a connection at one end to the other end of the closure panel for adjusting the same to the respective extreme positions thereof re"- sponsive to movement of the latch rod in the direction of its length; and means carried by the inner plate releasably engaging the other end of the latch rod in selected positions to which the latch rod is rotated at the limits of its longitudinal movement, for retaining the closure panel in each of said extreme positions thereof.

4. An air exhaust for clothes dryers comprising: a pair of spaced apart, flat inner and outer plates proportioned to overlie the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of a building wall, each of said plates having a center opening of substantial size and said openings being aligned transversely of the plates; a plurality of tie rods extending between the plates to connect the same and spaced about said openings of the plates; an exhaust duct formed open at its opposite ends, one end of the duct being fitted in the opening of the outer plate flush with the outer surface of said outer plate, the other end of the duct projecting through and beyond the opening of the inner plate and being adapted for connection to the air outlet of a clothes dryer; a closure panel swingably connected at one end to the outer surface of the outer plate for pivotal adjustment between opposite extreme positions in one of which the panel is sealably engaged against the outer end of the duct to close the same, and in the other of which the panel is swung outwardly from the outer plate to open the duct for exhaustion of air therethrough to atmosphere; a latch rod arranged in substantial parallelism with the duct and loosely mounted in the respective plates for rotation and for movement in the direction of its own length, said latch rod having a connection at one end to the other end of the closure panel for adjusting the same to the respective extreme positions thereof responsive to movement of the latch rod in the direction of its length; and means carried by the inner plate releasably engaging the other end of the latch rod in selected positions to which the latch rod is rotated at the limits of its longitudinal movement, for retaining the closure panel in each of said extreme positions thereof, said means including a keeper secured in close proximity to the inner plate to engage the other end of the latch rod when the closure panel is in its duct-opening position, and further including a latch member having a portion spaced outwardly a substantial distance from the inner plate and disposed for engagement with said other end of the latch rod in the duct-closing position of the closure panel.

5. An air exhaust for clothes dryers comprise ing: a pair of spaced apart, flat, inner and outerplates proportioned to overlie the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of a building wall, each of. said plates having a center opening of substan-- tial size and said openings being aligned transversely of the plates; a plurality of tie rods extending between the plates to connect the same and spaced about said openings of the plates; an exhaust duct formed open at its opposite ends, one end of the duct being fitted in the opening of the outer plate flush with the outer surface of said outer plate, the other end of the duct projecting through and beyond the opening of the inner plate and being adapted for connection to the air outlet of a clothes dryer; a closure panel swingably connected at one end to the outer surface of the outer plate for pivotal-adjustment between opposite extreme positions in one of which the panel is sealably engaged against the outer end of the duct to close the same, and in the other of which the panel is swung outwardly from the outer plate to open the duct for exhaustion of air therethrough to atmosphere; a latch rod arranged in substantial parallelism with the duct and loosely mounted the respective plates for rotation and for movement the direction of its own length, said latch rod having a connection at one end to the other end of the closure panel for adjusting the same to the respeedve extreme positions thereof responsive to movement of the latch rod in the direction of length; and means carried by the inner :plate releasably engaging the other end of the latch rod in selected positions to which the latch rodis irotaited at the limits of its longitudinal movement, for retaining the closure panel in each of said extreme positions thereof, said means including a -keeper secured in close proximity to the inner plate 'to engage the other end of the latch rod the closure panel is in its -duc'topening position, said other end of the latch rod being formed with -a"-porti'o'n arranged normally to the :axis of the latch "rod, said means further including a latch member secured to the inner plate and having a cam surface spaced "a substantial dist'an'c'e outwardly of the inner :plate, said "cam surface being arranged obliquely to said portion 'of the latch rod to bias the same "away from the inner plate, "thereby to force the Closure =panel into sealing engagement with the first-named 'endof-the duct.

6. exhaust for "clothes dryers -compr'is'ing-z a pair of flat,j-parallel inner'and outer plates prop'o'rtlo'nedto overlie the inner and outer surfaces, "respectivly oi a building Wall, each of the plates hayinga center opening of substantial size and a Iplurality of smaller "marginal openings; 'a pinrality oftie rods'ea'chof which has its opposite "ends 'threaded 'and extended through the smaller openings ofthe plates; said tie rodsextendingbetween the plates "to connect the same and" being arranged about the large openingsof the plates in a marginal'series; *nuts' threaded on'the ends of the respective tie rods againstthe inner and outer plates 'to clampably engage the plates with the"wall' ata distance apart' corresponding to-the thickness of thewall; a duct extending-between the plates and having one endfiush with the outer surface of'th'eouterplatepsaid endof the duct "bein'g engagedwithin the larger opening of "the outer plate," the duct having its other end-slidably A ipo'sitioned through and extending beyond the inner "plate for connection to the air outlet of a clothes dryer; a closure panel swingably "connected at one end'to the outer plateior pivotal adjustment to opposite extreme positions "in'one 'of' which it engages said one end of the *duct 'to close the "same and in' the other of which it is "swung outwardly-from the outergplate 'to'open' the duct'for exhaustion of air therethroughtoatmos- 'pher'e; a latch rod extending between theplates "in sub'stantial parallelism 'with "the duct; *means "for connecting one end'of'the latchrod twthe other end'of thehlosurepanel-at 'a'selected location along"thelength'oftheilatch rod; said latch "rod "'belng fotatably engaged with the "closure panel and the respective plates and bein mounted on the plates Ior movem nt in the dire tion of its length to shift the closure panel to sa d ex? treme positions thereof; a handle po ion n th other end of the latch rod arran d no mally to the axis of rotation thereof; a keeper secured to and spaced closely from the inner plate and disposed .to engage said handle portion on rotation of the rod in one direction, in that position to which the rod is longitudinally moved in adjustthe panel out of engagement with the duct; and a latch member secured to the inner plate and including a cam surface arranged obliquely to the axis of rotation of the latch rod, said cam surface being spaced outwardly from the inner plate a substantial distance and vvheing adapted for biasing the handle portion outwardly of "the inner ;.pla.te responsive to .-rotation of thelatch rod in that position to which the latch rod is longttudinally moved in adjusting the closure panel into engagement with the duct, whereby 'to seal.- za'bly engage the closure panel with the =firstnamed end of the duct.

7 An air exhaust .for clothes dryers comprising: .:a pair of plates adapted to be mounte M1 91 the inner and outer surfaces, ;respec t ively, of a building wall; anzexhaustduct extending between .said plates :adapted at one end to he connected i communication with the air outlet of :a clothes dryer and having its other end opening to atmosphere through one .of the-plates; a closure panel swingably *connectedrto saidone plate fonadjustment to opposite, extreme positions "in :one of which .it engages .said other end of the iducteto closethe same, and in Ithe-othe1mof which it is swung outwardly from .said end of the duct; a latch :ro'd connected at one end to the closure panel :andsmountednn theplates for rotation and :for longitudinal movement, said latch member including a laterally projecting handle at its .other endfikeeper means on the 0ther=plate:re leasably engaging the latch rod handle in the outwardly swung position of the closure :panel, thus to retainthe panel in said outwardly swung position; and a latch member mounted :on the other plate for engaging the-latch-rodin the ductclosing position 1 of the panel, said latch member including -a =cam surface extending obliquely across thepath of movement of :the latch rod handle on rotation of the latch rod in the ductclosing position-of the'panel, to-bias-therod lom gitudinally in adirection away-from the closure "panel, =thereby to bind-the closure-panel against saidone plate.

RAEPH A. BENSON.

lteferences Cited in the file of this :patent UNITED STATES PATEN S 

